The prior art shows many different attempts to provide protection to the human head during various stages of life and various activities. Most such efforts are directed at providing a hard shell in a single or multiple components with a comfort layer between the shell and the head to provide for fit and reduction in the force of exterior impacts.
The hard shell exterior may be designed specifically for a particular sport such as horseback riding or motorcycle riding and may be a single moulded piece or a series of co-acting pieces as shown in US published pending patent application U.S. 2004/0003452 A1, U.S. Pat. No. 5,544,367 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,665,569. Efforts to make these more effective have resulted in multi-cell constructions such as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,343,047. In many cases these are designed to provide strong protection in high energy impact situations.
Infant appliances have followed this same structure including a hard plastic shell such as is shown in US published pending patent applications 2004/0015118 A1 and 2003/0195450. In one example shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,615,419 to Williams a toddler helmet provides a padded brim and a stretch panel in the dome for fitment. The Williams helmet is much like a winter toque with a rolled-up edge and although it provides some protection it does not take into account the multiplicity of events to which an infant/toddler may be subjected to during this period of instability and learning.
Other efforts at infant and toddler protection have followed these examples but are excessively rigid and heavy and detract from usability.
It is an object of the invention to provide an infant or toddler head protective covering which is economical to manufacture, simple and comfortable to use, adaptable to high growth and changes in children's' sizes and which provides protection from the effects of stumbles or falls, particularly during the period when the infant is just learning to stand upright and walk.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a moderate level of protection over the bulk of the infant skull in an expansible construction which provides a base for additional protective layers or areas in specific locations where stumble or fall impacts are most common.
It is a further object of the invention to provide an infant head covering which may be manufactured in components of varying sizes and readily assembled as by stitching.
It is a further object of the invention to provide an infant head covering specifically to provide protection from low energy impacts typical of the learning to walk stage of growth.